1985 911 3.2 Reliability

[Andres]

Hello guys:

I am considering to purchase a 1985 Porsche 911 with 185000 miles. The car looks runs great and is in great shape. I wanted to get feedback about this purchase... it will be my only car so I am concearned about the reliability.... fell free to share your thoughts and experiences...

 

[Bertroex]

Well, on the one hand it will be a bit of a gamble because of its age and the miles. On the other hand, if the car was properly maintained, had mostly one driver who understood the mechanicals and hence was sympathetic to it (warming up engine, take time to shift that 915 gearbox) and spend money on its cosmetic and mechanical upkeep, it will be the most reliable car you'll ever imagine getting.

185000 miles sound a lot. But the only work that a 3,2 engine at that point might need is a top end rebuild. If the car was subject to loads of trans continental driving in the style of "I have a meeting in Brussels at 10 AM, then I nip to Strasbourgh and want to be home in Cologne for dinner" than this would be perfect and your 185000 mile engine might not be that bad at all. Its the "never out in the rain 60000 mile jobbies" that are potentially problematic because of hardened rubbers, electronics and their connections being furry, lazy engines, brakes needing overhauling etc. There are two tales of 3.2 I know of: one 570 000 km in Amsterdam, first engine and nearly needing its 2nd top end rebuild but bottom end is strong as anything, gearbox no probs and a 420 000 km 3.2 coupe which needed nothing but scheduled maintenance.

If however this car was owned by a company director between 1984 and may 1985, sold 15 times since and had 7 different private plates, has some history but there is a gap between the mileages of 66000 and 178000, a full body restauration with fibreglass 964 kit in 1994 and a respray from baltic blue to discotheque yellow in 2004, and had one elderly caring owner between 2008 and now who gave it a full service, I'd be thinking twice. You might not have anything original except the VIN number matching the V5C (but not necesarily the shell) on it.

The mechanicals on the 3.2 are easy to fix (albeit at a price, but this is a porsche and not a vauxhall cavalier) so the expensive bit are firstly the cosmetics/originality and secondly the rust issues on the bodywork.

As with all these situations: a pre purchase inspection by a dedicated porsche specialist at £150- £270 will be the best investment for peace of mind and future budgetary outlay.

Good luck in your search.


Bert

 

[fhauser]

Hi Andres
I have had my 3.2 5 yrs,It has done 160000 mls ,I have done most of the mechanics myself,which has not been a lot and relatively staight forward to work on .My main concern would be the bodywork ,if lots of corosion this would be costly,also if you can get someone to check it out and look at the kidney bowls as this repair gets into big money,It can all be put right but be aware at a cost

 

[alex.powell]

I'm upto 189k although there is not much of the original left now!! First thing I did with engine was a full rebuild..it's my daily driver and has never let me down...

Good luck with it !! And don't be afraid to get stuck in, there is a huge amount of help on these forums..

 

[Signor]

Greetings
I bought my '85 Coupe in Nov '04 and have used it every day since[]. Its done 155400 odd miles WITHOUT a engine rebuild!!? Sure I've had the body work sorted but it has been very reliable, apart from the time the alernator went but I still managed to limp to work[] But then even modern cars can have a dodgy alternator[]
Because of a change in my circumstances I now only use the car 2-3 times a week but it still fires up and runs like clockwork[] I've done the Le-Mans trip in the old girl without any problem!
So my answer is what are you waiting for? Go for it, you won't regret it, but get it checked out first tho'[:-]

 

[nathan 1981 930 G50]

I've owned my 3.2 for over 10 years and it has never broken down. I've had a few problems but it's never actually let me down.

I would say the weak point of that car would be the gearbox, the synchro's wear quite easily and can easily cost over £1K if you had to pay for it to be done.

They are fabulous cars, go for it!
I also have a normal car that I use which gets me a discount with my insurance, you may want to consider this if you have any reliability concerns.